Lisi selected as Avon Grove School Board president

12/12/2017 12:50PM
● By Steven Hoffman

The Avon Grove School Board held its
annual reorganization meeting on Dec. 7.

The first order of business was the
swearing in of three new members—John Auerbach, Richard Dumont, and
Lynn Weber. Board member Herman Engel, who was serving as the
chairperson for the special meeting, administered the oath of office
for the new members. Returning board member Bill Wood had already
been sworn in for the start of a four-year term on the board.

Wood and the three new members join
Charles Beatty III, Jeff Billig, Herman Engel, Tracy Lisi, and Bonnie
Wolff on the board for 2018.

The next order of business for the
school board was to select a new president for the next year. Billig
nominated Lisi for the position. It was the only nomination and the
full board affirmed Lisi's nomination to serve as president. She is
entering her third year on the school board, and was elected from
Region II, which includes the areas of Penn Township and New London
Township.

Wood nominated Wolff to serve as the
vice president of the board. There were no other nominations and she
was voted by the full board to serve as vice president for the next
year. Wolff has served on the school board for 15 years, and was
board president for 2017—her fourth year in that role during her
time on the board.

The school board will continue to meet
as a committee of the whole on the second Thursday each month, and
regular meetings will take place on the fourth Thursday of the month.
There was a brief discussion by the board about possibly changing the
start time of the committee-of-the-whole meetings—Weber suggested a
6:30 start time because it would be difficult for her to make it to 6
p.m. meetings. She also said that 6:30 p.m. might be more convenient
for residents.

Superintendent Dr. Christopher Marchese
pointed out that the committee meetings had already been moved back
by a few hours to be more convenient for everyone. Several board
members pointed out that later start times make it more difficult for
staff members who are called upon to participate in the committee
meetings. The earlier start time for the committee-of-the-whole
meetings also helpful because those meetings can be lengthy, and the
early start means an earlier conclusion. Ultimately, the motion to
change the meeting time was withdrawn, and the board opted to keep
the 2018 start times the same as 2017.

In
the last piece of business on the agenda, Wolff was also appointed to
serve as the board's representative to the Chester County
Intermediate Unit. The term of the appointment extends from July 1,
2018 through June 30, 2021.